Tights and method of making



Nov. 7, 1961 R. l. lSLEY 3,007,327

, TIGHTS AND METHOD OF MAKING Filed Nov. 26, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR way ATTORNEY6 Nov. 7, 1961 R. ISLEY 3,007,327

TIGHTS AND METHOD OF MAKING Filed NOV. 26, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,007,327 TIGHTS AND METHOD OF MAKING Randolph I. Isley, Burlington, N.C., assignor to Glen Raven Knitting Mills, Inc., Glen Raven, N.C., a corporation of North Carolina Filed Nov. 26, 1958, Ser. No. 776,624 4 Claims. (Cl. 66-177) This invention relates to knit garments of the type generally referred to as tights, or in some circles leotards, and to a method for the manufacture of such garments.

So-called tights have been manufactured in the past by knitting a pair of stockings of sufficient length to extend to the waist of the wearer, slitting the stockings on the inner side of the leg from the top welt downwardly an appropriate distance, or providing such a slit in the knitting operation, and then joining the free edges of the slits of the respective stockings of the pair to form a garment. This provides a garment which will closely em: brace the leg and lower part of the body from the waist down.

The slitting of the stocking-like members has proven a difficult step due to the fact that the stockings are full fashioned and seamed up the back, and it is necessary that the slit be accurately positioned if the seams are to lie properly at the backs of the legs when the garment is worn. This requires precision work and materially slows the manufacturing process. If the slit is formed during the knitting, it is necessary to use an extra yarn carrier for the full depth of the slit and, as the slit is at the side of the finished stocking, the carriers will have different throws in knitting the flat blank.

The object of the present invention is to provide a method for the manufacture of tights which will provide for great accuracy in the positioning of the slit without need for precision work on the part of the operator.

A more specific object is the provision of a marker, formed during the knitting of the blank, to indicate the wale along which the slit is to be made.

A further object is to provide a marker which will indicate precisely the wale along which the slit is to be made and the full and exact depth of the slit.

Another object is to provide means upon which the seamed stocking-like member may be placed to facilitate the making of a proper slit.

Yet another object is the provision of a garment made in accordance with the new method.

A still further object is to provide a crotch piece of approximate diamond shape for use in the manufacture of tights with the major portion of the edges of the crotch piece being selvage edges.

It is a further object to provide such crotch pieces in the form of a continuous strip with a plurality of the pieces serially arranged thereon.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description of one practical embodiment thereof, when taken in conjunction with the drawings which accompany, and form part of, this specification.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 shows a pair of stocking-like blanks knit in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 illustrates the blanks of FIGURE 1 after they have been seamed up the back;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of one of the stocking like members stretched over a special slitting board;

FIGURE 4 is a transverse section taken along the line 44 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of the finished garment;

FIGURE 6 is a horizontal section taken on the line 66 of FIGURE 5, illustrating the shape and position of the crotch piece; and

FIGURE 7 shows in perspective a strip of crotch pieces as they come from the knitting machine.

In general, the invention is concerned with a method of making tights wherein a stitch is dropped in the knitting of the stocking-like members from which the tights are formed so as to provide a marker to indicate where the members are to be slit for joining together. The invention includes also garments made by this method, and a particular crotch piece used in the formation of the garment.

It is believed that the invention as it concerns both method and product can best be understood by describing the garment by the steps followed in making it.

Refer-ring to the drawings in detail, there are shown in FIGURE 1 two full fashioned blanks 1 and 2 which are knit generally in accordance with conventional full fashioned stocking making procedure, except that the tops are unusually long so that the tights which will be formed from them will reach to the wearers waist. The knitting departs [from the conventional, however, in that one stitch is dropped in each blank in a course at a predetermined distance from the blank top. This will form a hole, and the fabric is free to run or ladder back toward the blank top along the wale in which the stitch is dropped. The holes so formed are indicated at 3 and 4. It is to be noted that the blanks are made as rights and lefts, and the wales in which the holes appear will be spaced from the respective edges of the blanks just the proper distance, so that when the stocking-like members are slit along the wales in which the holes are located and the members joined, the back seams will lie along the backs of the legs of the wearer.

After the blanks are knit, they are seamed up the back in conventional manner to form the stocking-like members 5 and 6 shown in FIGURE 2. 'It will be seen that holes 3 and 4 formed by the dropped stitches are positioned approximately midway between the front and back of the seamed members and on what will ultimately be the inside of the legs.

When it is desired to slit the stocking-like members, the tops are drawn over a form 7 which has a rounded leading edge 8. The form is a flat board of suflicient width to stretch the seamed garment somewhat. This makes the run or ladder more pronounced, and may cause the run to continue further toward the garment top. The from is provided with a longitudinal groove 9 approximately midway between the sides. When the garment top is placed on the form, the wale containing the run is aligned over the groove 9 so that the yarns of the ladder span the groove. The operator may then slit the garment simply and accurately by merely running a knife or razor blade along the groove 9 from the pre-formed hole 3 in the garment to the garment top.

The slit edges of the two stocking-like members are then brought together and stitched to form the central front and back seam 10 and 11 of the tights. In order to provide proper fit, a crotch piece 12 of diamond shape is interposed between the stocking-like members at the bottom of the slits in these members and stitched to them, as at 13. A waistband 14, which may be of elastic material, is sewn around the top of the joined stocking-like members to complete the garment.

The crotch piece forming part of the present invention is generally diamond shaped and :formed as a continuous strip 15 of serially connected crotch pieces. The strip is knit on a flat knitting machine, and the individual pieces are given their shape by first widening the fabric to form the diverging edges 16 and then narrowing to provide the converging edges 17. The widening and narrowing are continued in alternation to produce a strip of desired length. The individual pieces can be severed by cutting across the narrow areas 18 between the several pieces. The crotch pieces so formed will have selvage edge along both sides for the full lengths of the widened and narrowed edges 16 and 17.

Tights manufactured according to the method disclosed herein can be made rapidly without precision measuring and yet will be accurately tailored. The operator only need follow the simple marking provided by the dropping of the stitch in the kniting operation to provide a perfectly formed garment.

While in the above one practical embodiment of the inventive method and the garment formed thereby have been disclosed, it will be understood that the precise details of procedure and structure described and illustrated are by way of example and the invention may take other forms within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A method of manufacturing tights comprising, knitting a pair of fullashioned stocking-like flat blanks and dropping one stitch in each blank in a predetermined wale and a predetermined course to form a marking hole in each blank, seaming the blanks to form stocking-like members, slitting each blank from the marking hole to the top, and joining the respective slit edges of the two blanks by stitching.

2. In a method of manufacturing tights as claimed in claim 1, drawing the stocking-like members over a form having a longitudinal groove prior to slitting and aligning the wale including the marking hole over the groove.

3. In a method of manufacturing tights as claimed in claim 1, stitching a crotch piece to the two stocking-like members at the bottoms of the slits therein.

4. A pre-forrned member for use in manufacturing tights comprising, a knit stocking-like member seamed up the back and having an open top, said stocking-like memher having a marking hole therein in a predetermined wale spaced from the seam and in a course spaced from the open top of the member to provide a starting point for slitting the member from the marking hole to the open top along the wale in which the marking hole is located, the knit member being locked against laddering along the predetermined wale from the marking hole in a direction away from the open top.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,955,632 Heinitz Apr. 17, 1934 2,697,925 Goodman Dec. 28, 1954 2,746,276 Smctana May 22, 1956 2,790,315 Iscnhour Apr. 30, 1957 2,826,760 Rice Mar. 18, 1958 2,844,951 Anke July 29, 1958 Disclaimer and Dedication 3,007,327.Randolph I. lsZey, Burlington, N.O. TIGHTS AND METHOD OF MAKING. Patent dated Nov. 7, 1961. Disclaimer and dedication filed July 31, 1975, by the assignee, Patentew, Ina. Hereby disclaims and dedicates to the Public the entire remaining term of said patent.

[Oficz'al Gazette 00270661" 21, 1.975.] 

